Means for attaching stoves to shipping crates



, 1931 2 Sheets$heet 1 M813; 1933- c. H. HOFFSTETTER Er AL MEANS FOR ATTACHING STOVES To SHIPPING CRATES Filed Oct. 10

PIE-'1 ATTORNEY 9 y r u 6 w l m w m w 2 M m R W. E I M m r I I I a 4 f E .v r 0 M 0 5 Q0 2 M 2 will/1411 8 s ff 8 Ifl HF WW P W 2 m a W a 4 w w a I I I I l I l I I I I I l1 WM J WW g w H 7. a 9 w a M. f m w e a TIER? May 23, 1933. c. H. HOFFSTETTER ET AL 1,919,337

MEANS FOR ATTACHING STOVES TO SHIPPING CRATES Filed Oct. 10. 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 26 INVENTOH "RL H HDFPS'TETTER ROBERT F" HUF'fi'fTET'fE'R? ATTO RN EY Patented May 23, 1933 UNITED STATES A CARL H. HOFFSTETTER AND ROBERT F. HOFFSTETTER, OF ERIE, PENNSYLVANIA MEANS FOR ATTACHING STOVES T SHIPPING CRATES Application filed October 10, 1931. Serial No. 568,169.

This invention relates to a stove leg and or range, and Figure 4; a sectional View shipping crate interlocking means for a stove through one of the corners of the gas stove and has for its general object to cut down of Figure 3 showing the attachment of the shipping costs. log by a single bolt. Figs. 5, 6 and 7 are Stove manufacturers have always been perspective views of the front frame, side Wall much concerned over the relative high cratand the base frame respectively of the stove. ing and shipping costs which they must bear Figure 8 is a sectional view on line 8-8 of incident to the shipment of their relatively Figure 2, and Figure 9 a sectional View on heavy products, and are constantly seeking line 99 of Figure t. .Figure 10 is a per- 39 improvements which will enable them to respective view of the bolt used for crating and $0 duce such costs. Heretofore it has been attaching the leg of the stove.

the practice to employ as many as eight hook Referring more particularly to the drawbolts for the purpose of securing the stove ings S designates a stove or range comprisbody to the shipping crate, which bolt f ing a bodyB supported by the usual four legs course are never returned to the manufactuu 6. Such legs are generally of more or less er. This item is of considerable importance riangular shape and formed or provided to large manufacturers who ship thousands of With appropriately shaped top plates 7 for stoves in the course of ay'ear. To render this pp rting e B dy at the 1 CO costly use of hook bolts unnecessary, the 11ersstove leg attaching bolts of the resent in- The as B of the st m mprises a recvention have been so designed and mounted tanguler angle iIOII base frame 9 The as to permit of their use for shipping pin-- Zontal flanges 11 of base frame 9 are cut to poses, thus displacing the hook bolts hereto- Permit bending of the Vertical flange 12 f fore employed. These leg attaching bolts thereof as at to Provide the foul anglts t are necessarily f very heavy d Strong or corners of the base frame to which the legs struction and consequently are capable f are attached. The enameled rear and side doing double the work of the separate hook Walls 13 and from frame 14 0f the Si-QVQ bod?! b lt h t f l d l l forpsecuring S are suitably secured to the base frame. In

n th t v i th hi i crate O the case of the rear and side Walls, connection ly. a. saving of eight bolts is effected on each 15 effected y bending the edges shipment of the stove. As previously QX of to form horizontal flanges 15, which snugplained, it i customary f Stove f ly engage and are bolted to the bottom faces turers to remove the legs from the stove body of horizontal flanges 11 of the base frame 1 v b f hi t t a "d l h bl by means of bolts 16. The front frame 14 is (w, these P s. Therefore, th u f th 1 tsecured to the vertical flanges 12 of the base taching bolts for securing the stove in a shipframe y means of bolts other Suitablfi ping crate does not entail extra labor on the fastening means not shownpart of either the a f t or th d l When the stove is assembled, the four cor- I fa t th use f f b lt Where as ners of the base frame thereof rest upon the n as eight had been used heretofore, effects a Plates of the respective g t and the saving both in a bli di bli ter are securely attached to the frame by and in crating and u cmti means of headed bolts 20, which are perma- In the accompanying dra i f i nently attached to and carried by the base 5 part of this specification, Fig re 1 i a 1 1 frame. These bolts extend axially through p -fiv Vlew f a h i Crate ith a mngg the openings 21 in the upper end portions of attached thereto according to the invention. the bends which bands are Produced in F gure 2' 1s a section through one corner of the operation of shaping the base frame angle the stove and the crate showing the attachmember 9 into rectangular form. It is essen- J ment of the stove to the crate by a single bolt. tial, as will presently be seen that the bolts 100 Figure 3 1s a perspective view of a gas stove 20 be permanently attached to the base frame,

so that they will always be available and in their proper place for assembly purposes, it being the practice for stove manufacturers to ship the stove and legs to their dealers disas- V sembled, and of course they are fixed against displacement also in order to be available for use in attaching the stove base to the shipping crate. \Vithdrawal, or accidental displacement of the bolts from their hanging position in the openings 21, is obviated by making the heads of the bolt 20 of elongated shape and of larger size than the openings 21. It will thus be seen that withdrawal is impossible because the heads of the bolts are too large to pass through the openings, whereas attempted withdrawal in the opposite direction causes the elongated bolt head to jamb against the inner face of front frame 14. Consequently, the bolts 20 cannot be removed without dismantling the body of the stove, or at least loosening the bolt connec tion between the front frame and the base frame. The lower straight threaded shank portions of the bolts 20 extend through openings 23 in the top plates of the legs and are provided with wing nuts 2 1- for securely c amping the top plate and base frame together. It should be noted that the leg attaching bolts 20 are of much greater length than would seem to be necessary for connecting the legs and body of the stove together. The purpose of employing long leg attaching bolts is to permit of their threaded ends QX- tending through the brace boards of a shipping crate C sufiiciently for the reception of the wing nuts.

After the legs have been removed from the stove body, the latter is placed in crate C with one end wall of the former resting on the bottom of the crate. This crate is especially designed for the purpose of this invention to the extent that top and bottom brace boards 26 are provided at one side of the crate in wnich bolt openings 27 are formed at predetermined points. These openings are so arranged that they will be in approximate axial alignment with the threaded ends of the bolts 20, and in position to receive the latter when the stove body is moved into proper position. The wing nuts 24 are then screwed home thus securely tying the four corners of base frame of the stove to the crate. All stresses and strains incident to handling and shippingv of the crate are taken by that portion of the stove best adapted to withstand them, namely the base frame. t should also be noted that the bolts 20 form a permanent part of the stove and consequently are always in position for immediate use. While the bolts are pivotally mounted in the openings 21 to facilitate their insertion in the openings 23 and 27 respectively, formed in the top plate of the leg and in the crate, this movement is not sulficient for the bolts to move beyond the confines of the corners. When the bolts pivotally move or are swung in one direction the threaded shanks of the bolts engage the 111- ner faces of the respective angle iron base member, while under excessive movement in the opposite direction the elongated heads of the bolts engage the rear face of the front frame 14. Consequently, it will be seen that the bolts cannot be turned sufficiently far to become substantially out of alignment with the openings 27 in the crate.

lVhat we claim, is:

1. In combination with a shipping crate, a stove body having arectangular base frame, and a front frame attached to said base frame,

astening means pivotally interlocked with said base frame and permanently held in place by said front frame and connected to the crate.

2. The combination of a shipping crate with a stove body according to claim 1 in which the head of said hook bolt is of elon gated form to limit the pivotal movement of said bolt.

3. The combination of a shipping crate with a stove body having a base frame and a front frame attached to said base frame, and a plurality of hook bolts pivotally and permanently attached to said body, the front frame being spaced from the base frame, and the hook bolts having elongated heads for engagement with the front frame in limiting the pivotal movement of the bolts.

In testimony whereof we aifix our signatures.

CAR-L H. HOFFSTETTER. ROBERT F. HOFFSTETTER. 

